Hightower won the seat in a runoff that followed the Jan. 29 GOP primary, in which he led a field of three candidates by capturing about 46 percent of the vote.

Alabama is one of just 11 states that has provisions for primary runoff elections, which are marked low voter turnout and results that rarely differ from the initial vote.

They’re also expensive. The cost to run the two elections is still being calculated, but elections officials estimate that taxpayers will be billed about $50,000 for each. Turnout was less than 10 percent in both races.

To recap: That’s $50,000 and six weeks of campaigning simply to confirm a decision by voters who barely cared about the race in the first place. Worse still, the delay denied constituents of Senate District 35 a representative in Montgomery for much of this year’s legislative session.

Why have primary runoffs at all?

“There’s no good reason to have them,” said state Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison.

Ball, a former U.S. Marine sergeant and retired Alabama State Trooper, is not one to put up with folly. He's also a shade tree musician, but that's another story.

Ball introduced a bill in the Alabama legislature late Wednesday that would revise election law and effectively do away with primary runoffs. House Bill 488 would provide that, if any candidate receives at least 35 percent of the vote in a party primary, that candidate would be declared the winner and no runoff would be held.

Ball said he included the 35 percent threshold because it would eliminate the majority of runoffs while having a minimal effect on election results.

There are a handful of examples – Gov. Robert Bentley’s win the 2010 GOP primary being one of them – when a candidate finishes second in the primary but wins the runoff.

Bentley received 25 percent of the GOP vote in a field of seven candidates, behind Bradley Byrne at 28 percent. Six weeks later, Bentley captured 56 percent of the vote to defeat Byrne.

“Gov. Bentley would still be in office under my bill,” Ball said. “We’re not looking to impact the results or take away anybody’s right to vote. But we can eliminate a whole lot of elections that simply aren’t necessary.”

The 11 states that still hold primary runoffs are concentrated in the Deep South, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"I think that's a holdover from the days of one-party rule by the Democrats," Ball said. "But as we've seen here in Alabama, times are changing across the South."

Vermont holds runoffs only in the rare event of a tie, and South Dakota only for the offices of U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, or governor.

Hightower’s state senate race looks like a bargain compared to statewide runoffs, which can cost taxpayers up to $3 million. There’s also the time and money spent by candidates to campaign.

Ball said he’s received encouragement from his colleagues in the Legislature and from a variety of state interest groups who would save money by not having to pony up contributions in every other election.

By contrast, he said, he’s heard few good arguments against his proposal.

“It’s just an idea I had, and gets us in line with the rest of the nation,” Ball said. “If more people cared about these elections, more people would vote.”

George Talbot is state and national political reporter for AL.com. Contact him at 251-219-5623 or gtalbot@al.com.